The first edition of IFE Manufacturing will come to ExCeL London on 21-23 March as the UK’s dedicated showcase of end-to-end food & drink manufacturing and product development.
The show will be a hub of innovation in the food & drink manufacturing and packaging sectors, welcoming major food & drink brands, packaging and manufacturing directors, technical directors and more to discover the latest products and trends in the space.
Emma Verkaik, Membership & Marketing Director of show partner the British Contract Manufacturers & Packers Association, comments: “At a time when the value of outsourcing has never been more important in the supply chain, IFE Manufacturing could not be more timely.
“It provides all the elements required to help businesses grow successfully, as well as giving brand owners and retailers an opportunity to talk to the BCMPA about their outsourcing needs and to find potential manufacturing solutions.”
Manufacturing and packaging innovation
IFE Manufacturing will showcase a wide range of suppliers at the forefront of the food & drink production supply chain. The show’s Official Show Sponsor, Infor, will be discussing how its range of solutions for the food and beverage industry is helping organisations innovate and increase productivity, enhancing transparency across the supply chain and improving sustainability while laying the foundations for growth.
“At IFE Manufacturing 2022, we’ll be discussing how our solutions deliver crucial farm-to-fork transparency and traceability, underpinning sustainable practices that reduce food, energy and water waste,” says Marcel Koks, Infor Food & Beverage Industry & Solution Strategy Director. “At the same time, our industry-specific functionality supports ongoing innovation in recipe and formulation development, facilitating product labelling compliance on a global scale.
“With Infor solutions, food and beverage businesses can handle product recalls effectively and efficiently, while achieving the comprehensive business visibility and resilience needed to manage even the most challenging of supply chain disruptions.”
Elsewhere at the show, compostable packaging will be high on the agenda as a viable solution to food & drink’s sustainable packaging challenges. Suppliers including BioPak and TIPA Compostable Packaging will be showcasing bespoke packaging solutions, while TIPA Regional Sales Director Gary Tee will be taking to the stage on the show’s Innovation Platform to discuss how the company developed flexible packaging that on one hand is fully compostable and at the same time mimics conventional plastic.
Footprint will also be on hand to discuss its pioneering plant-based fibre packaging solutions with extended barrier properties to replace rigid plastics, meaning it’s capable of meeting the 12–18-month shelf-life requirement for frozen foods.
Visitors to the show can also meet with JBT Automated Systems, a leading global supplier of Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) systems for material movement in manufacturing plants, warehouse facilities & hospitals, and Leybold – Pioneers in Vaccuum, provider of modern vacuum technologies for industry food production, processing and packaging.
The latest trends in food production
IFE Manufacturing’s Innovation Platform has a comprehensive seminar programme across the three days of the event, covering the most vital trends and opportunities in the world of food production and manufacturing.
In ‘NPD Sessions sponsored by BCMPA: Working with 3rd party contract manufacturers to meet buyer demands’, BCMPA’s Emma Verkaik will be joined by Cyril Guillemart of The Alexir Partnership, Olly Reynalds, Managing Director of Sauce Shed Food Product Development Consultant Nick Henson to discuss readying a product for further development and scalability, and what it takes to build effective, long-term partnerships with manufacturers.
On 22 March, Danny Bayliss of Campden BRI give a presentation entitled ‘Is technology the route to a more sustainable future?’, which will examine some of the ways in which technology can streamline and improve the manufacturing process in the food & drink sector.
Later that day, an all-star panel will take to the stage to discuss ‘Vegan manufacturing in its purest form.’
Parm Bains, Co-Founder of SHICKEN, Matthew Glover, Managing Director of Veg Capital, Esther Pearson, Managing Director of Clive's Purely Plants, Scott McCulloch, Co- Founder of The Vegan Kind and Charlie Fisher, Global R&D Director at Wicked Kitchen will discuss implementing vegan standards across a manufacturing supply chain and the challenges of truly vegan manufacturing on a large-scale.
IFE Manufacturing takes place alongside IFE, International Food & Drink Event, The London Produce Show and Hotel, Restaurant & Catering (HRC), creating the UK’s largest gathering of food, drink and hospitality professionals. View the full seminar programme and list of suppliers, and register for your free pass to attend, at ifemanufacturing.co.uk.